The Pattern of 16 Tenses in English

1. Simple Present

  
1.1. Simple Present Tense 
Condition: S + V1 (-s/es) + O. 
ex:
(+) MAERSK corp. negotiates goods from Africa.
(-) MAERSK corp. don’t negotiate goods from Africa. 
(?) Does MAERSK corp. negotiate goods from Africa? 
Yes, they do. 

1.2. Simple Present Continuous  
Condition: S + to be (is, am, are) + V1+ ing + O.
ex:
(+) MAERSK corp. are negotiating goods from Africa. 
(-) MAERSK corp. are not negotiating goods from Africa. 
(?) Is MAERSK corp. negotiating goods from Africa? 
Yes, they are. 

1.3. Simple Present Perfect  
Condition: S + has/have + V3 + O. 
ex:
(+) MAERSK corp. have negotiated goods from Africa. 
(-) MAERSK corp. haven’t negotiated goods from Africa. 
(?) Have MAERSK corp. negotiated the goods from Africa? 
Yes, they already negotiated it. 

1.4. Simple Present Perfect Continuous  
Condition: S + has/have + been + V1+ ing + O.
ex: 
(+) MAERSK corp. have been negotiating goods from Africa.
(-) MAERSK corp. haven’t been negotiating goods from Africa.
(?) Have MAERSK corp. been negotiating goods from Africa? 
Yes, they have.

2. Simple Past 

2.1. Simple Past Tense
Condition: S + V2 + O. 
ex:
(+) MAERSK corp. negotiated goods from Africa.
(-) MAERSK corp. didn’t negotiate goods from Africa. 
(?) Did MAERSK corp. negotiate goods from Africa?
 Yes, they did.


2.2. Simple Past Continuous  
Condition: S + to be (was/were) + V1+ ing + O.
ex:
(+) MAERSK corp. were negotiating goods from Africa.
(-) MAERSK corp. weren’t negotiating goods from Africa. 
(?) Were MAERSK corp. negotiating goods from Africa? 
Yes, they were. 

2.3. Simple Past Perfect  
Condition: S + had + V3 + O. 
ex:
(+) MAERSK corp. had negotiated goods from Africa.
(-) MAERSK corp. had not negotiated goods from Africa. 
(?) Had MAERSK corp. negotiated the goods from Africa?
 Yes, they already had negotiated it. 

2.4. Simple Past Perfect Continuous  
Condition: S + had + been + V1+ ing + O.
ex:
(+) MAERSK corp. had been negotiating goods from Africa.
(-) MAERSK corp. had not been negotiating goods from Africa. 
(?) Had MAERSK corp. been negotiating goods from Africa? 
Yes, they had.

3. Simple Future 

3.1. Simple Future Tense
Condition: S + will/shall + V1 + O. 
ex:
(+) MAERSK corp. will negotiate goods from Africa.
(-) MAERSK corp. will not negotiate goods from Africa. 
(?) Will MAERSK corp. negotiate goods from Africa? 
Yes, they will.

3.2. Simple Future Continuous 
Condition: S + will/shall + be + V1+ ing + O.
ex:
(+) MAERSK corp. will be negotiating goods from Africa.
(-) MAERSK corp. will not be negotiating goods from Africa.
(?) Will MAERSK corp. be negotiating goods from Africa?
 Yes, they will be negotiating goods from Africa.

3.3. Simple Future Perfect 
Condition: S + will/shall + have + V3 + O.
ex:
(+) MAERSK corp. will have negotiated goods from Africa.
(-) MAERSK corp. will not have negotiated goods from Africa. 
(?) Will MAERSK corp. have negotiated the goods from Africa? 
Yes, they will.

3.4. Simple Future Perfect Continuous 
Condition: S + will/shall + have + been + V1+ ing + O.
ex:
(+) MAERSK corp. will have been negotiating goods from Africa.
(-) MAERSK corp. will not have been negotiating goods from Africa. 
(?) Will MAERSK corp. have been negotiating goods from Africa? 
Yes.

4. Simple Past Future

4.1. Simple Past Future Tense 
Condition: S + would + V1 + O.
ex:
(+) MAERSK corp. would negotiate goods from Africa.
(-) MAERSK corp. would not negotiate goods from Africa.
(?) Would MAERSK corp. negotiate goods from Africa? 
Yes, they would.

4.2. Simple Past Future Continuous 
Condition: S + would + be + V1+ ing + O. 
ex:
(+) MAERSK corp. would be negotiating goods from Africa.
(-) MAERSK corp. would not be negotiating goods from Africa. 
(?) Would MAERSK corp. be negotiating goods from Africa? 
Yes, they are. 

4.3. Simple Past Future Perfect  
Condition: S + would + have + V3 + O. 
ex:
(+) MAERSK corp. would have negotiated goods from Africa. 
(-) MAERSK corp. wouldn’t have negotiated goods from Africa. 
(?) Would MAERSK corp. have negotiated the goods from Africa?
 Yes.

4.4. Simple Past Future Per. Con. 
Condition: S + would + have + been + V1+ ing + O.
ex:
(+) MAERSK corp. would have been negotiating goods from Africa.
(-) MAERSK corp. wouldn’t have been negotiating goods from Africa. 
(?) Would MAERSK corp. have been negotiating goods from Africa?
 Yes, they have.